Key play: Ryan Mueller stripped the ball from Bryce Petty set up K-State with field position it would turn into a touchdown.

Key stat: K-State held Baylor to a single first down.

Fourth Quarter

Key play: Daniel Sams threw an interception while trying to find Zach Trujillo up the right sideline.

Key stat: Glasco Martin picked up 53 of his 70 yards while the Bears were trying to kill the clock late.

Report card

Offense: B+. Daniel Sams rushed for more yards than any K-State quarterback not named Ell Roberson and helped K-State hold the ball for more than 39 minutes. John Hubert also had 90 yards on the ground. The Wildcats were terrific on the ground, but only threw for 118 yards.

Defense: B. K-State defended Baylor than anyone else has, and gave the offense a shot to win. Ryan Mueller was the best defensive player on the field. But the Bears connected on deep passes too easily.

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Special teams: C. A blocked punt helped K-State greatly, but the return game is a nonfactor without Tramaine Thompson and Tyler Lockett. Jack Cantele also missed his first pressure field goal.

Coaching: B. K-State’s play-calling was much-improved, and it was nice to see Hubert get 15 carries. But the defense seemed unprepared to defend certain passing plays.

Player of the game: Ryan Mueller. Even in defeat, his game stood out. He continued to pressure the quarterback and force turnovers.

Reason to hope: K-State has led ranked teams in the fourth quarter of back-to-back games.

Reason to mope: The Wildcats have the look of a team that doesn’t know how to win with the game on the line. They couldn’t get off the field against North Dakota State and haven’t been able to mount game-winning drives in Big 12 play.

Looking ahead: K-State will take on West Virginia at home after a bye week. Winning that game will be important to keep the Wildcats’ bowl chances alive.

Notes

Bill Snyder played a trick on Baylor during warm-ups. Both Tramaine Thompson and Tyler Lockett fielded punts with K-State’s special teams unit and appeared fit to play. But when the team returned for the opening kickoff Thompson was in sweats and Lockett was holding a clipboard. Neither receiver played. Thompson has missed the last two games for unspecified reasons. Lockett is recovering from a hamstring injury suffered at Oklahoma State. They were both considered questionable heading into Saturday, but Snyder said he expects both of them to play against West Virginia.

• K-State cornerback Kip Daily left the game and was unable to return after taking a hit that the crowd deemed questionable on Saturday. When asked about the hit, Snyder said his thoughts would be “better left unsaid.”

• Weston Hiebert’s blocked punt was K-State’s first since 2009.

• Only one NFL scout was in attendance. The Kansas City Chiefs sent the lone representative.

• Daniel Sams briefly left the game with a shoulder injury, but returned after receiving treatment in the locker room. Afterward, Sams said he was healthy.